1. (Field of the Invention)
The present invention relates to an electronic still camera adapted to record video information on a magnetic information recording medium contained therein such as video floppy disc, card memory or the like.
2. (Background Art)
The electronic still camera of prior art basically comprises a photoelectric converter element (referred to hereinafter as CCD) located behind, for example, a single focus lens, a viewfinder unit located laterally adjacent them, a video floppy disc drive (referred to hereinafter as VFDD) located laterally adjacent said viewfinder unit so as to receive a video floppy disc as horizontally orientated, a flash discharger unit used for flash photographing located laterally adjacent said VFDD, a signal processor substrate located under said VFDD, and a battery located behind said VFDD.
The video floppy disc is inserted into and withdrawn out from the VFDD through an insertion opening of so-called kangaroo pocket type provided in a top wall of the camera or of so-called slot type provided in a rear wall of the camera.
When such electronic still camera is viewed from the front, the camera presents a flat and wide configuration having the single focus lens on the left hand and the flash discharger unit on the right hand (first embodiment of prior art).
Another electronic still camera of prior art basically comprises the CCD located behind the single focus lens, the VFDD located lateral adjacent them so as to receive the video floppy disc as vertically orientated, the battery located on the side opposed to said VFDD, the signal processor substrate located behind said VFDD, and the viewfinder unit and the flash discharger unit both located above said battery.
The video floppy disc is inserted into and withdrawn out from the VFDD through the insertion opening of so-called kangaroo pocket type provided in the rear wall of the camera or of so-called slot type provided in the lateral or top wall of the camera.
When such electronic still camera is viewed from the front, the camera presents a configuration similar to that of so-called 35 mm compact camera utilizing conventional silver halide film, having the single focus lens at the center and the viewfinder unit and the flash cube of the flash discharger unit on the right hand adjacent the top (second embodiment of prior art).
Of the conventional electronic still camera, the first embodiment has a configuration similar to that of the disc camera and the second embodiment has a configuration similar to that of the 35 mm compact camera, so the user might often, by force of habit, rotate the camera by 90.degree. as if using the classic camera in photographing, for example, a person being standing with a result that, upon playing back of the photographed object, a 90.degree. rotated image appears.
As an example of multifunction cameras, there is sometimes offered the electronic still camera adopting a zoom lens for telescopic/wide angle photographing. If such camera is of the flat type as has been mentioned above as the first embodiment of prior art, the lens diameter would be substantially larger than a height of the camera casing and a weight distribution of the camera would be uncontrollably one-sided. This makes it difficult to hold the camera with single hand and to sling up the camera in a well balanced condition. Thus, such camera would be inconvenient for use from the viewpoints of maneuverability and portability.
If such multifunction electronic still camera is of the 35 mm compact camera type as has been mentioned above as the second embodiment of prior art, the zoom lens would extensively protrude forward from a portion of the camera casing and this would also give rise to problems with respect to maneuverability and portability.
With the electronic still camera of prior art, the units such as the lens unit, the VFDD and the viewfinder unit as well as the components such as the CCD, the battery box and the signal processor substrate are assembled together using the camera frame as supporting base. Such construction utilizing the camera frame as the supporting base necessarily makes it difficult to achieve an efficient grouping of the components into relatively few units and restricts selective positioning of the respective units and components because locations and spaces to be occupied by these units and components are rigidly determined by the camera frame. Consequently, a space efficiency for loading of these units and components is seriously prevented from being improved to minimize a size of the camera.
The electronic still cameras of well known art including the above-mentioned embodiments of prior art commonly present a camera configuration which is one-sided either in vertical direction or in horizontal direction due to the locations occupied by the VFDD and the battery. This makes it difficult to hold the camera in a stabilized condition during photographing. Furthermore, vertically or horizontally asymmetric configuration of the camera is undesirable also from the aesthetic viewpoint.